One of the biggest kept secrets in dentistry is the Mission for Mercy program or what is known as MOM in PA. This program put on by the Pennsylvania Dental Association (PDA) provides care to surrounding communities from where it is set up. The MOM program is done once annually in different locations and this year it was in Reading, Pennsylvania. It is one of the most well organized programs for free dental care and on this particular MOM event they treated almost 1900 peopl…e. Dr. Gradwell was honored to work there on Saturday, May 19th in the Oral Surgery department. He started at 6am and treated patients until 5pm. It was a long and exhausting day but the hugs from patients made it all worth while. This is just another way that Dr. Gradwell gives back to his community and celebrates his Christian faith and love for Dentistry. Next year you will find him in Scranton, Pennsylvania at the 2019 MOM in PA event.
Dr. Gradwell has a passion for mission in his community and abroad. He can be seen cooking at the Lehigh Conference of Church’s Daybreak and most recently traveling to Honduras in May as the Periodontist and Oral Surgeon on a medical team that originates from First Presbyterian Church of Allentown. The Honduras trip allowed Dr. Gradwell to provide care to the surrounding villages as well as teach dental techniques of periodontal surgery to the practicing dentists in the clinic at Manos Amigos in the providence of La Entrata. The group even took a walker and 2 wheelchairs for any locals that were in need of them. At the end of the day, Dr. Gradwell, will admit that the most rewarding times in his life is when he is doing mission work with his God given craft of dentistry.
I traveled to Malawi, Africa from July 19th to August 1st for a Dental Mission Trip. Alongside me were my daughter Lauren, and friends of mine from here. During this trip I was able to experience the vast culture of the Malawians as well as perform many surgeries that changed people’s lives. Throughout that process my life was changed as well. I would like to thank everyone who contributed to my Malawi Africa Trip through financial donations and prayer. The 10 days were a very humbling experience in which I performed 200 surgeries with a Malawian dental technician who extracts teeth in the villages. We did not have access to a dental chair or even electricity, so we used a plastic patio chair and a headlamp from Cabela’s as our dental operatory. The medical team as a whole saw 1,971 patients which included home visits when necessary. The Malawian people are peaceful and thankful for what little they have and they were thankful for the attention and care that we provided throughout our trip. Those who made contributions, whatever they were, made it possible for us to have medications and supplies necessary to make this opportunity happen.
One of the many blessings I had was to work with Wellington, a dental technician who extracted teeth with me. He is a 27 year old man with a wife and an 8 month old daughter. He was accepted into the Dental School Program in Tanzania and would love to go but has no financial means to get there. After prayerful consideration, Eileen and I have decided to commit to paying for his schooling for the next four years. Wellington, as well as the African trip in general, made that much of an impact on our lives. We ask that you continue to keep us in your prayers as the Lord continues to call us and work through us as only He can do. Here are some pictures for your enjoyment. Thank you all for your generosity, prayers, thoughts and words, it was greatly appreciated!
My Daughter Lauren
Eugenio, Lauren, Eileen and I The Clinic I was working at
Emdogain is used for successful recession coverage. A 2003 abstract by McGuire and Nunn in The Journal of Periodontology, evaluated human recession treated with connective tissue grafts and coronally positioned flap versus Emdogain and coronally positioned flaps. The results showed that in 17 patients, when compared to connective tissue grafts, 95% of the Emdogain patients achieved the same clinical result.
The nice advantage about this procedure for the patient is that we do not have to harvest tissue from the palate. Emdogain is an enamel matrix protein derivative from porcine tooth buds. The material is user friendly and cost effective, if used to repair several teeth. When considering having root coverage recession corrective surgery, consider the option of Emdogain.
Periodontics & Implants in Lehigh Valley Since 1990. Contact Dr. Gradwell at (610) 770-1050 for your periodontal or dental implant consultation. From our Allentown periodontal office, we serve patients in the Lehigh Valley and the surrounding areas, including Bethlehem, Easton, Coopersburg, and Reading. We look forward to showing you the state-of-the-art options available to meet your dental needs
Summer 2013
This past August I had the opportunity to spend a week in La Entrada Honduras with a medical mission team. This trip was a humbling experience in which we had the opportunity to treat 600 patients in five days.
We started our mission in Honduras by setting up the very first medical clinic in a town named Trinidad. The mayor of the town was thankful and proud that he could provide this service to his people. I provided dental care, primarily surgeries, in the clinic at Manos Amigos in the town of La Entrada, while the medical folks on the mission team worked in the Trinidad clinic we had set up on Saturday and Sunday.
My youngest daughter, Lauren, and I set up the pharmacy in the clinic.
We had over 30,000 pills which we bought from a medical supplier in the Netherlands and the medications were shipped to Honduras about a week before our arrival. The two days of setting up allowed the medical team to see an unbelievable number of people, to include two school classrooms of around 120 children. I worked in the dental clinic at Manos Amigos with two other dentists who work full time there. I was able to provide surgical care to almost 90 patients in the five days.
It was a humbling experience and I will forever be grateful for the opportunity to serve these folks in their time of need. One of the lessons I learned was that I will never take for granted clean drinkable water! Hopefully over the next decade more wells could be drilled to make clean and safe water available to so many who do not have access to such.
I want to thank all those who helped us along the journey. Your financial support and prayers were put to great use and I was proud to represent you among these beautiful and humble people.
Periodontics & Implants in Lehigh Valley Since 1990. Contact Dr. Gradwell at (610) 770-1050 for your periodontal or dental implant consultation. From our Allentown periodontal office, we serve patients in the Lehigh Valley and the surrounding areas, including Bethlehem, Easton, Coopersburg, and Reading. We look forward to showing you the state-of-the-art options available to meet your dental needs.
Well it’s been a few weeks now since the extraction of Dr. Freedman’s beloved tooth and a visit here to see how things are coming along is required. By now, the osteoblasts or bone forming cells have migrated to the surface of his new implant and will soon start to grow into it, making the dental implant part of his body!
Everything checked out just great! One observation that Dr. Freedman made was that it is astounding how quickly the body resorbs the un-needed bone. His tongue starts to feel the difference in thickness in the outside area of the jaw bone where his tooth used to be. All Dr. Freedman has to do now is just wait 3 more months to get started on his new implant supported crown. The time will go by quickly! As always, this process went very smoothly and before Dr. Freedman knows it, his new tooth will be biting into his favorite foods!
Periodontics & Implants in Lehigh Valley Since 1990. Contact Dr. Gradwell at (610) 770-1050 for your periodontal or dental implant consultation. From our Allentown periodontal office, we serve patients in the Lehigh Valley and the surrounding areas, including Bethlehem, Easton, Coopersburg, and Reading. We look forward to showing you the state-of-the-art options available to meet your dental needs.
Picking up where I left off, Dr. Freedman came here to get his fractured tooth extracted and the site grafted with bone, in preparation for a future implant. Using only local anesthesia, I easily and atraumatically removed his bad tooth, cleaned out the minor infection, disinfected the site and then discovered there was enough solid bone to place a dental implant in the perfect position.
If you have never had a procedure like this done, the truth is that the hardest part is the sadness over losing your tooth! It had been with Dr. Freedman a long time and they shared countless meals together! There was NO pain during the extraction, dental implant placement or the grafting procedure. Dr. Freedman was taking antibiotics and he only needed a few Motrin for the tiny amount of discomfort that he had experienced afterward. He applied ice regularly for 24 hours and followed all of the post-surgical instructions, which was vital.
Dr. Freedman was able to treat patients the next day and go to a Phillies game with his wife and some friends that evening! So for the time being, he’s missing a tooth, but on the bright side, he was back in his regular routine the very next day!
Stay tuned for Part 3! 😉
Periodontics & Implants in Lehigh Valley Since 1990. Contact Dr. Gradwell at (610) 770-1050 for your periodontal or dental implant consultation. From our Allentown periodontal office, we serve patients in the Lehigh Valley and the surrounding areas, including Bethlehem, Easton, Coopersburg, and Reading. We look forward to showing you the state-of-the-art options available to meet your dental needs.
If you ever had any doubts, even a dentist can have a dental emergency! Several months ago just after his last check up, Dr. Freedman developed a toothache on his upper left side. Of course, like one would expect it was when he was on a long weekend outing with his wife. Fortunately, he was able to generally diagnose the problem, asked me to call a prescription in for him and so his time off was salvaged! While Dr. Freedman made an appointment to see an endodontist to treat what he had diagnosed as an abscess, Dr. Freedman’s big question was how could he have an abscess…he had no filling or cavities in that part of his mouth. Well the endodontist as well as his partner confirmed the diagnosis as an abscess, but the cause was a fractured tooth!!! A perfectly healthy tooth had been fractured and nothing could be done to save it! That meant one thing, time to see me and get his tooth extracted and have a dental implant placed! So off Dr. Freedman came to see me for treatment. We shall continue the story with my next post! Periodontics & Implants in Lehigh Valley Since 1990. Contact Dr. Gradwell at (610) 770-1050 for your periodontal or dental implant consultation. From our Allentown periodontal office, we serve patients in the Lehigh Valley and the surrounding areas, including Bethlehem, Easton, Coopersburg, and Reading. We look forward to showing you the state-of-the-art options available to meet your dental needs.
I spend a large amount of time every year on continuing education. These educational meetings provide me with information that keeps me current in all aspects of dentistry. I traveled to Boston for the Periodontal and Restorative workshops where I received 24 hours of CE on dental implants, gum treatment, gum surgery and esthetic dental restorations such as crowns and veneers. I am investigating the newest and “greenest” 3D imaging machine for purchase and use in my practice. This will take a couple more months to complete, but I will be able to offer the latest, lowest dose 3D imaging in the Lehigh Valley.
Also, I just came back from the American Academy of General Dentistry meeting in Nashville, TN. I took CE courses with my colleagues from Harleysville, where I practice 2 Wednesdays a month. We learned how to incorporate orthodontic care with our patients, how to better choose restorative materials for our patients (white fillings), and how to make the most out of our talents to provide happy, healthy, white smiles for our patients.
At the AGD meeting I purchased a DentalVibe injection comfort system which will allow me the opportunity to give dental injections in an even more comfortable manner. The research has shown that when vibration is simultaneously applied to the injection site, the vibrating sensation travels along the nerve fibers much faster than the pain sensation travels. Therefore, the vibration sensation blocks any possible pain from the injections. The nice part about this technique is that it is organically safe. No medication is necessary to achieve a comfortable result. Periodontics & Implants in Lehigh Valley Since 1990. Contact Dr. Gradwell at (610) 770-1050 for your periodontal or dental implant consultation. From our Allentown periodontal office, we serve patients in the Lehigh Valley and the surrounding areas, including Bethlehem, Easton, Coopersburg, and Reading. We look forward to showing you the state-of-the-art options available to meet your dental needs.
We make every attempt to maintain a patient-centered practice. My focus is the patient, rather than the procedure, which I believe makes a real difference when providing personal care for patients in the Lehigh Valley. I try to put patients at ease and listen attentively to their concerns. A large number of people who come to the dentist are very scared and I understand that.
Providing patient-centered care not only involves listening, but also communicating. I make every effort to explain in logical, down-to-earth terms, what I am seeing and what would be the best, necessary treatment. I believe an informed patient is one who is able to choose the most appropriate care for their specific needs and desires.
The goal of myself and my staff is to connect with patients as people and to provide them with the best long-term solutions for their dental issues. Contact Dr. Gradwell at (610) 770-1050 for your periodontal or dental implant consultation. From our Allentown periodontal office, we serve patients in the Lehigh Valley and the surrounding areas, including Bethlehem, Easton, Coopersburg, and Reading. We look forward to showing you the state-of-the-art options available to meet your dental needs.
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